Albel
by Sasha of Sorrowful Memories
Summary: Raised by an abusive father, the 11 year old girl had no friends. Until one day while in the winter forest, she found a white rock that will change the course of this oneeyed girl's life forever. Rated T for blood, violence, and maybe deep romance later.
1. Twitchy Rock

-1**Sasha: YAY the beginning of yet another story of mine. Hopefully you all will enjoy it!!!! Oh, and please leave a comment if you like! No flames please, I'm very sensitive -sobs- Enjoy…PEACE!!!**

Albel

By: Sasha of Sorrowful Memories

Chapter one:

Twitchy Rock

The girl sat in the corner of the dark smoky chamber, her sobs echoing off the walls. She shook madly, her limbs dripping from the new home-made tattoos her father had carved into her chest. The 11 year old was covered in them, tribal styled and oddly professional looking. Well… some of them anyway. Her black and blond hair hung over her face, one side longer than the other, and matted with blood and ashes. She meant for her hair to hide her face, for her left eye was something she was shamed of.

When she was five, as she clearly could remember, her father and carved her left eye out clean from her skull, fully awake and screaming. If her mother hadn't stuffed a piece of cloth in her socket to stop the bleeding, the girl probably wouldn't have survived.

The chamber door swung open, catching the girl's breath. A tall, slightly round man strode in, his head bald but his brows bushed like wild thickets. His eyes were cold, bitter, lifeless and black, though his devilish smile betrayed his more fearsome looks. Shackles jingled at his hips as he walked ever so calmly. Standing over the small girl, he smirked as her sobs quickly stopped. She stood, staring at him with her only eye, and hid all evidence of her tears. He tilted his head.

"Were you crying?" he asked simply. The girl shook her head. "Don't lie to your father now, tell me, were you crying?" again she shook her head, and the man sighed. "Tsk tsk… I guess I can't prove it, now can I?" he knelt to her, his huge dull eyes staring deep into her deep green pool of an eye. "But… perhaps I can prevent it from being hidden again…"

The wind shot out of her lungs as his fist dug itself into her side and flung her against the chamber wall. She gasped and coughed, blood trickling onto the ground. Walking to her, her father whipped out a clean knife, sharp as if he had just gotten it. He held her down, kneeing her gut to keep her from breathing. Gasping, she froze, refusing the struggle. She learned from past experience to not try to escape, it only meant more big and painful tattoos.

After slowly cleaning the knife on his other knee, he bent over her and pulled her bottom eyelid down, exposing the sensitive pink flesh and eyed the slender vein that ran along it's length. Carefully and skillfully, he slid the knife along the vein, and quickly blood oozed from it and trickled down like tears from her eyes. The child did not make a squeak, for she knew it would only provoke him to do more. She held back the urge to shake, or scream, as her father smiled at his work and stood, letting his daughter stand. Crimson tears fell from her eyes as she stared at the ground, not even looking at him. He chuckled and nodded, walking out the chamber. "Next time…" he said, still walking off. "…you won't be able to hide those tears."

He vanished from her site, leaving the door wide open. With a calm expression, she slowly crept out of the chamber and into the dark, wooden home that was her fathers. Smiling at the freedom he had allowed her to have, for the time being, she found her way outside, the bitter cold of winter nipping at her ears and nose. She didn't care, she loved the snow. The pure white forest that surrounded her home never looked more beautiful, except for in the spring, she loved the spring too. She ran into the forest, laughing as the powder sprayed around her from her small and slender legs. She dove into the snow, laughing, rolling around with joy. Blood stained the snow, but she ignored it.

How come she did not try to run away? She had, once, tried such a foolish act, which caused her to loose her left eye when she had been caught. Ever since, she dared not try again, for she did not want to loose the sight she had. She would never be able to see the winter and spring again.

Sitting up against a white tree, she gazed around with her deep green eye, which still stung lightly from the cut her father had done. She touched a crimson tear that slid from her eye and looked at it as it ran down her finger. She sat in silence, looking up to the clouded sun. Loneliness fell upon the young girl. Her mother had always been there for her when she truly needed her. She always did her best to heal her daughter whenever her father had inflicted serious injuries.

The child's lip quivered as she remembered… Her mother was gone, thanks to her father. He didn't care for her at all, and punished the child whenever she tried to help heal her mother. He watched her die slowly, making his own daughter watch too.

She hid her face into her knees, feeling her blood tears fall from her eyes like rain onto a dark forest. Her body went numb from the cold, yet it felt good to her, it matched the deep sorrow within her.

"Mother…" she choked. She had lost her only friend, the only person that hid by her and suffered with her. Now she was alone to suffer, alone to heal herself, both physically and mentally. She dug her nails into her legs, feeling more blood seep from her and onto the snow. "Help me…I… I do anything to have her back… I need friend…"

Something twitched beneath her, making her squeal and leap in fear. She dove into a snow bank, hiding herself from her attacker. Peeking out, she blinked at what had touched her. It was hard to see, for it was as white as the snow around it. Slowly, she crept from her hiding place and to the white thing, which turned out to be a long, slender rock. Tilting her head to the side, she poked it out of curiosity. It lulled and fell toward her, tapping into her legs. Giggling, she picked it up, expecting it to be heavier than herself. But to her surprise, it was almost as light as a cat. She blinked at the rock and hugged it.

"Twitchy rock twitchy rock!" she laughed and jumped up and down. She liked the rock, it reminded her of the snow. She looked toward her house, then frowned. If her father found her rock, then he would take it away, like he did with everything of hers… even her clothes. Looking down at the rock, she closed her eye and held it close. "You my rock." she whispered to it, as if it were a pet. "I hide you good!"

She stuffed the rock into a pile of ashes within the chamber, also known as her room. She tried to make the pile look normal, which wasn't too hard. Piles of ashes covered the floor, all of which acted as her bedding and, in emergencies, bathroom litter. She smiled to herself. "You stay there, rock!" it obeyed her silently. It did stick out of the ashes a little bit, but only if you looked closely you could see the lump in the ash.

Smiling broadly, she felt proud of her new rock… no, a new friend. It may not be a living creature, but it was the only thing she could own without her father knowing, hopefully. She laid down in the pile next to the rock and yawned, curling into a ball. She felt the curtain of sleep begin to fall upon her, but she refused to let it before her father did his routine check-up on her.

And it wasn't much of a wait. Silently her father entered the room, the door had been wide open. He looked tired, probably just got back from wherever he goes every week. Upon the back of his giant black stallion Grimm, he would gallop away into the forest and not return until twilight. He always came back with more food, for himself of course, and other materials. Sometimes he brought back a new knife or two, which she clearly knew what they were for.

He walked into her room and picked her up by her arm, yanking it. She yelped in surprise, pretending to have been asleep and he had woken her. He smiled, she knew that made him happy. He dropped her like a sack of potatoes, then turn to leave. Without a word, he slammed the chamber door shut, filling her room with bitter darkness. Chains rattled outside her door, and then a click, which was the lock. Finally, she could rest now.

"Night Twitchy Rock." she said, patting the ash pile. The rock made no move. "Good!" she giggled quietly. "You good hider, you are!"

The young girl's eye snapped open. The chamber was still dark, so that meant it had to be night. She sat up, rubbing her eye with a yawn. After a quick look around (not seeing anything of course), she began to ponder why she had woken….

_Crrrrrrrraaack_

She jumped, hiding herself in a pile of used ash. Whatever it was, it was within the chamber. Maybe her father and thrown in a raccoon, or maybe a weasel?

_Crrrrrrraaack _

She flinched again, hiding deeper into the smelling ash. Fear throbbed within her. What if it was a snake? No, this was no snake…

_Crrrrrrrraaack_

"W-who there?" she asked quietly. Everything went silent. She gulped, then tried again. "No hurt, please? I friend, good!" she hoped that whatever it was understood her. Silence again. The child shivered, then, building up her courage, she ventured out from the pile. "Hello?"

_Crrrrrrrraaack!!!!_

She squealed as something smacked her in the face, and quickly she retreated to her pile. She whimpered, shivering in fear. 'What is that?' she thought to herself. 'Squirrelly?' Peeking from the ashes, she blinked at what she saw.

From the pile her rock had been, a light pulsed from under it. She blinked, crawling out from hiding. "Twitchy Rock?" she asked. It made the cracking sound , the pile shivering. The child tilted her head. "Twitchy Rock? What wrong?"

A part of the pile collapsed, revealing the ivory rock. It was severely cracked, light shimmering out of it in beams. She gasped.

"Twitchy Rock! You broke!" she said, her voice cracking with sadness. She leaped forward and picked up her cracked rock. It twitched within her arms. "Twitchy! It okay, Mommy here…" she soothed. The rock pulsed, making another cracking sound as part of it fell off. She covered the hole with her hand. "No, stop breaking!" she whined, her sight beginning to turn red as blood tears shimmered in her eyes. Something warm and wet touched her hand, clasping it. She yelped in shock and dropped the rock, and with a loud crash, the rock shattered.

Light flashed within the room, blinding her. She squealed and fell over, covering her eye. Panting and shivering, she slowly uncovered her eye after many moments. Her eye widened and her jaw dropped at what she saw.

It was a tiny creature, the size of a cat perhaps, with a long slender triangular shaped head and long lean ivory body. It's tail was long, almost as long as her arm. Two huge leather bat wings fanned from it's sides, red veins pulsing within them. Frills began at the back of it's head and, all but a part between the base of it's neck to it's shoulders, ended at the tip of it's tail with huge spiked frills. Two tiny horns sprouted from the back of it's head, another on the tip of it's snout and at the sides of it's jaws. It was covered in tiny white scales, and it's eyes were the color of blood, it's pupils like a cat's. It's claws each had 5 little talons, each the color of night. A bright light seeped from it, lightening up the whole chamber.

The girl was lost at words. The creature was so beautiful, and it's movements were graceful and swift. It blinked at her, tilting it's small head. She blinked, taking a gulp. "Twitchy Rock?"

The animal squeaked, making her twitched. That had been no rock… it was an egg! No wonder it twitched!

"Are you friend?" she asked the animal quietly. It tilted it's head again, and walked to her, sniffing at her. She smiled after a bit. It was nice, so far. She giggled, outstretching her right hand to pet it. It held it's head out for her, and so she set her hand on top of it.

Pain flashed up her arm, tightening her muscles so much they did not allow her to move. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her sight went blank, images of her mother and her death flashed before them. She tried to scream again, but nothing. It felt like the animal and dove into her arm and clawed up within it, nosing it's way between her bone and muscle. She felt on fire, like the creature had set her aflame. Just when she didn't think she could take anymore, the pain suddenly ceased, leaving her to collapse onto the metal floor with a dull _thunk._ Everything went black.

**Sasha: wow that's kinda long… oh well, could have been longer but I decided this would be a great cliff hanger X3. Pleeeeeeeeeease comment on it, if not I wont think anybody likes it so I won't continue it! Enjoy…PEACE!**

**Sasha of Sorrowful Memories**


	2. Grimm and Ike

-1Sasha: Thanks for the comments peeps! And as your reward -drum roll- here's the next chapter! Enjoy, PEACE!

Chapter Two: Grimm and Ike

The chamber door swung open, light shooting into the room like lazar beams. The child woke with a start, jumping up. Her father let out a cold laugh. He was washing his hands with a cloth, blood streaking it. He must had just finished skinning something.

"Go clean Grimm." he ordered. "I want him spotless."

She nodded with a bow. Her father snorted and walked off. She sighed, rubbing her eyes to get sleep out of them. Pain made her jump as she touched her face, making her look at her hand. A spiral shaped burn rose from her palm, puss oozing from parts. She groaned at it, remembering what had happened. She snapped her head around for the white creature that had attacked her that night.

Nothing, the chamber was empty, all but the piles of ash. There's no way the animal could have got out from the room, even if it was the size of a cat. He had to be in one of the piles, but which one?

The child wondered around, quickly spotting little footprints in the ash. She followed them quietly to the pile the rock… no the egg… had been before it hatched. The pile was oddly shaped, which was raising and falling slowly. It was there. The girl looked around to make sure her father wasn't around. Nothing. Turning her attention back to the pile, she suddenly faced the tiny triangular head and big, round red eyes that were inches from her face. She squeaked in shock and fell back. The creature made an odd clicking sound and stepped out, it's scales covered in gray ash. The girl whined.

"No hurt!" she whispered. The creature tilted it's head. "No hurt, okay? You made bad hurt already!" she pushed her palm out, showing the animal the wound it caused. It sniffed at it, and gave it a lick. Her hand stung with pain as the creature's tongue touched her wounded flesh, making her take back her arm. "Ow!"

The scaled lizard blinked and squeaked, walking towards her. The black/blond haired child gasped and backed into the wall. It squeaked again, sniffing at her. "What you want???"

"ARE YOU SPEAKING?" came the angered cry of her father down the hall. The girl gasped and covered her mouth, shaking with fear. "YOU BETTER NOT BE SPEAKING! IT IS A SIN FOR YOU TO SPEAK! DO YOU WISH FOR ANOTHER MARK?!"

She fell silent, shaking her head. The lizard blinked it's red eyes and sat at her feet, smoke puffing from it's nostrils.

"GOOD! NOW GO OUT THERE AND CLEAN GRIMM UP! I SHOULD PUNISH YOU FOR NOT OBEYING ME IN THE FIRST PLACE! BE GREATEFUL AND GO OUT THERE!"

She nodded and looked at the creature. It opened it's mouth to squeak, but she closed it with her hand before anything came out. To her surprise, she felt no pain. After a quick look around, the girl picked up the cat sized lizard with wings, a hand firmly around it's mouth, and ran outside before her father could see. She ran over the mounds of snow, the creature struggling in her grasp. Reaching the small stable, the let the animal down. It squeaked angrily at her and wobbled into the stable, it's tail high.

Grimm, the giant black stallion, stood tall in his stall. He looked over his door and gazed down at her, his black eyes searching her own. She hugged his large head and kissed his forehead.

"Hello Grimm!" she whispered, afraid her father would hear. The horse nudged her lovingly. "Ready for cleaning?"

Grimm turned his head to the lizard, his unusually long ears pricking up. The girl smiled faintly and began to brush Grimm's long straight hair. "No worry, Grimm Grimm, he no hurt you, you too big!" she giggled. Grimm nickered and stomped one of his hooves. Each one was almost the size of the girl's head. The lizard squeaked and hid behind a barrel. The girl laughed.

Hours passed within the stable, the whole time the child spoke with Grimm and the white unusual creature. She wanted to ride the big horse, but she knew her father would take her eye out if he caught her riding his beloved Grimm. She stood on the tips of her toes and hugged Grimm around his thick neck. "Love you, Grimm Grimm." she murmured. Grimm nickered again, shaking his head. She stumbled back just as her father walked in.

"Hmm…" he grumbled, looking Grimm over. The girl looked around for the white creature, but it was nowhere to be seen. She hid her relief as she stood straight, lowering her head before her father. He walked in, taking a closer look at Grimm's shiny coat. She glanced up, hoping she had done everything right. Her father ran his fingers threw both his horse's mane and tail, nodding to himself. He lifted each one of the black stallion's hooves, tapping the hard shoes. Everything seemed great, until he reached the last hoof. A piece of wood stuck out of Grimm's shoe, most likely it had gotten stuck after she had cleaned it and let the horse put his hoof down into the wood chip bedding of his. Angrily, her father pulled the wood out and glared at her.

"What's this??" he asked. The girl stood there silent. "I said, WHAT IS THIS?!" he threw the small chip at her; it bounced off of her and it returned to it's kin on the floor. Grimm glanced up, ears pricking. Her father stomped out from behind his horse and up to her, yanking her head up by her hair. She yelped , not looking him in the eye.

"You let a piece of wood stab Grimm in his hoof, what, do you not care that you hurt this poor animal???" he asked, his voice low and angry. She said nothing, her legs shivering in fear. She knew that wood didn't hurt Grimm, in fact, she was sure the horse didn't even know it was there. "How dare you hurt my stallion, you witch!" he threw her against the wall, the tools hooked on it rattled at the impact. Grimm whinnied, rearing and striking the air with his dull hooves. The father ran over to him, petting his nose and whispering calm and soothing words to him. Grimm shook his head, hears pinned. "See what you did!" he cried at his daughter. She curled up against the wall. "You upset him! It's alright Grimm, the pain will go away…" he walked over to a sack of oats, pulling out a handful and feeding it to the horse.

The girl stayed where she was, she didn't want to provoke more. She glanced over by Grimm's feet, finding that the white lizard crawled out from a pile it had hidden in. The girl caught her breath. 'No!' she thought. 'Hide…hide!'

The creature looked at her, tilting it's head. 'Hide!!!' she screamed at it within her mind. The lizard flinched as if she had really screamed it, and retreated back into the pile. She blinked at it. 'did…it hear me?'

Father patted Grimm on the head, and glared at the girl again. She kept her gaze low, now at her feet. He stomped over to her and yanked her up by her arm. She whimpered. "You will stay in this barn tonight as punishment." he growled at her. She gulped. "If you even THINK about running away, I'll sever off your feet!"

He dropped her and walked away, slamming the stable door shut. She heard the click of a lock, and the crunching of snow as her father walked away.

The girl curled up into a ball, shivering at the cold. Grimm nickered to her, stretching his neck to nuzzle at her hair. She looked up, blood tricking from her eye. She hugged Grimm's head, sniffling into it.

Quietly, the lizard poked it's head out, squeaking. The girl looked at it, then patted the ground next to her. "Come come, it getting cold…" she said, voice shaking. It crawled to her, snuggling against her side. It laid it's head on her lap, it's eyes gazing up at her. She ran a hand down it's side, making it purr. She smiled. "You need name." she whispered. Grimm nickered and lifted his head, nibbling at the lock on his door. After opening the door, the horse walked out, his long tail flickering. The lizard hid behind the girl, now afraid of the gigantic horse. She chuckled and hugged it.

"I name you Ike!" she said. "Ike my invisible friend, until Father hid him." she said. She remembered when she was 4, she had an imaginary friend, Ike, named after her first word. He had been there when the girl was afraid, and always comforted her. But one day, her father found out about Ike and told her that he locked Ike up and threw him into a lake to drown a lonely death. She cried many days for Ike.

Ike the winged lizard squeaked and yawned. Grimm trotted over after he stretched his legs, then laid down in his stall. The child crawled in with him, shutting the door, then cuddled up next to the horse's side. Ike didn't follow, instead he roamed the stable, catching mice and eating them. The girl closed her eyes, falling into a deep slumber, despite the pain in her back.

**Sasha; squee another chapter finished! The next one shall be more exciting, promise! Till the next update, PEACE!!!!**


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